AMUSEMENT PARKS To meet the recreational needs of city “ Eight hours for
dwellers, Chicago, New York City, and other cities began setting
work, eight hours for
aside precious green space for outdoor enjoyment. Many cities built
rest, eight hours for
small playgrounds and playing fields throughout their neighborwhat we will”
hoods for their citizens’ enjoyment.
THE CARPENTERS’ UNION,
Some amusement parks were constructed on the outskirts of
WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS
cities. Often built by trolley-car companies that sought more passengers, these parks boasted picnic grounds and a variety of rides.
The roller coaster drew daredevil customers to Coney Island in 1884, and the first
Ferris wheel drew enthusiastic crowds to the World’s Columbian Exposition in
Chicago in 1893. Clearly, many Americans were ready for new and innovative
forms of entertainment—and a whole panorama of recreational activities soon
became available.
MAIN IDEA
Making
Inferences
A How did the
mass production
of bicycles change
women’s lives?
BICYCLING AND TENNIS With their huge front wheels and solid rubber tires,
the first American bicycles challenged their riders. Because a bump might toss the
cyclist over the handlebars, bicycling began as a male-only sport. However, the
1885 manufacture of the first commercially successful “safety bicycle,” with its
smaller wheels and air-filled tires, made the activity more popular. And the Victor
safety bicycle, with a dropped frame and no crossbar, held special appeal to
women.
Abandoning their tight corsets, women bicyclists donned shirtwaists (tailored
blouses) and “split” skirts in order to cycle more comfortably. This attire soon
became popular for daily wear. The bicycle also freed women from the scrutiny of
the ever-present chaperone. The suffragist Susan B. Anthony declared, “I think
[bicycling] has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.
. . . It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.” Fifty thousand men
and women had taken to cycles by 1888. Two years later 312 American firms
turned out 10 million bikes in one year. A
Americans took up the sport of tennis as enthusiastically as they had taken
up cycling. The modern version of this sport originated in North Wales in 1873.
A year later, the United States saw its first tennis match. The socialite Florence
Harriman recalled that in the 1880s her father returned from England with one
of New York’s first tennis sets. At first, neighbors thought the elder Harriman had
installed the nets to catch birds.
Hungry or thirsty after tennis or cycling? Turn-of-the-century enthusiasts
turned to new snacks with recognizable brand names. They could munch on a
Hershey chocolate bar, first sold in 1900, and wash down the chocolate with a
Coca-Cola®. An Atlanta pharmacist originally formulated the drink as a cure for
headaches in 1886. The ingredients included extracts from Peruvian coca leaves
as well as African cola nuts.
Bicycling and
other new sports
became fads in
the late 1800s.
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